Overview

• A Division Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Syam Kumar V.M. affirmed the single judge’s interim order and dismissed the state’s writ appeal.
• The stay keeps the Justice V.K. Mohanan Commission—set up to examine allegations that the ED sought to implicate political leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan—from functioning while the ED investigation continues, with a detailed order awaited.
• The court noted the single judge’s finding that the Enforcement Directorate is amenable to writ jurisdiction and that parallel inquiries could impede and derail the probe.
• The ED argued the state lacks power under the Commissions of Inquiry Act and that the commission was intended to derail the investigation, while the state’s defense of the panel was rejected at this stage.
• The bench said the question of the state’s legislative competence to constitute such a commission will be decided by the single judge at the final hearing.